Twenty-Third Time's the Charm
by sir wilfrederick
Summary: ["Your name must be Andromeda, 'cause we're destined to collide." The newcomer stilled, then turned to her with a cocked eyebrow. "Uhm... My name's Keith, actually."] Sophia hasn't been very lucky in the love department. Hopefully, this cute stranger at the LGBT Christmas party will end her dry spell. trans woman Lance college/modern AU Requested by Shiranai Atsune


A/N: unedited because I'm tired and it's Christmas. Enjoy!

* * *

Sophia liked college. Really! She did! It was just...

She had expected something... _different_.

Not to say that it was _bad_! Just... She had expected to be treated differently from high school. Less like a pariah. More like a normal student.

"We can't put you in with the women's dorms," the housing lady had said apologetically. "You're still... technically male. Our hands are tied."

And hadn't _that_ been a jolt. It had sent a stab of pain to her chest, made her hands clench on the armrests. Her mama had sent a glare at the lady Sophia wasn't going to bother to remember the name of. Why should she, if the lady wasn't going to try to help?

"And you think it's alright to stick _her_ in the _men's_ dorms?" her mama had spat. "She's not a boy!"

The woman had bit her lip and tucked dark hair behind her ear as she shuffled through some papers. "We do have a dorm building that has single suites and is co-ed. It's more expensive, however—"

"Sophia has a full-ride," her mama had claimed proudly. "If you refuse to put her in the women's dorm, then you _will_ put her in the single suite."

And so it was done.

But it was lonely, in her room. She was the youngest of five, and she was used to noise, movement, another body in the same room. So, yeah, she was lonely. She never told her mama that, never told her mama that she was sad, was lonely, was—Sophia needed to grow up, anyway, she figured. Needed to figure out how to live on her own.

Look, she knew the statistics of ever finding someone who would love her for being a trans woman—for being a trans woman of _color_. She knew the statistics of her being murdered.

But.

She was a romantic, after all, and stupidly optimistic.

Which was what brought her to the coffee shop day after day to work on her homework. She liked the noise—it helped her concentrate on her math and physics. Plus, there were cute boys, and cuter girls, also studying at the campus coffee shop. It helped that her best friend, Hunk, also worked there as the baker in the early mornings and slipped her the rejects that weren't sellable.

Sophia figured Hunk was just trying to be nice.

Free food for her, either way.

Speaking of—Hunk collapsed into the chair across from her, slumping over and spilling himself all over the table and onto her books.

"Hey!" she cried, but with a teasing smile. "I was working on that!"

"No, no, Sophia, you don't under_stand_," Hunk moaned into her physics textbook.

"Shay?"

"Shay."

Shay was the embodiment of a ray of sunshine. Really, honestly, the sweetest person Sophia had ever met—right up next to Hunk. Her grandmother owned the coffee shop, so she came in sometimes to help out. She was studying geology and loved the color yellow and her favorite animal was the armadillo and she took her coffee with a pump of vanilla creamer and three packets of sugar and—

Sophia could probably go on for ages, but she had physics to finish.

"Hunk—could I—I need my—"

With a hefty sigh, Hunk lifted his head long enough for her to pull the heavy tome back towards her. "She's just so—"

"Great, pretty, amazing, I know." Sophia scribbled down her answer, showing her work like the professor wanted. Which was _stupid_, because she knew the answer without needing to work it out. It just took too long sometimes to write it all out. "Just ask her out, buddy. I know she'll say yes."

"But—"

"Hunk." He looked up at her, all doe-eyed and pouty as she set down her pen. "She'll say yes. Trust me. Have I ever led you astray?"

"Well—"

"Bip-bip-bip!" Sophia pressed a finger to his lips to shush him. She grinned at his tiny smile hiding beneath her finger. "Come now, Hunky-dearest." She brightened when she saw a spot of yellow coming in. Sophia waved to get Shay's attention. "In fact, now's your chance!"

"No!"

"I can do it for you if you want?"

"No—!"

"Hello, Sophia. Hello, Hunk." Shay gave them a bright smile, softening when she turned her attention to Hunk. "Your shift is over by now, correct?"

Hunk nervously poked his fingers together. "Y-Yeah. I'm just—keeping Sophia company, because I'm a _good friend like that_." He sent Sophia a glare, who just continued grinning.

It was just too easy to rile him up. "Actually," Sophia said, drawing Shay's attention. "Hunk wanted to ask you—"

"I wanted to ask if you wanted to go on a date with me!"

Silence fell around their area. Luckily, Hunk hadn't shouted loud enough to cause a complete pause in the whole shop, but the nearby tables were definitely turning to pay attention to the commotion at their table. Sophia grinned her most charming grin as Shay turned back to Hunk, stunned.

"You want to go on a date? With me?" Shay asked shyly.

"Uhm. Well. Yeah."

Shay's smile could cure cancer—Sophia was sure of it. End poverty, stop global warming, cure depression, all the above. So, Sophia sat back and watched as Shay agreed to a date, watched their love blossom like a shy chrysanthemum.

Her work here was done.

* * *

She was eight when she asked her mama why she had a boy's name instead of a girl's name.

She was nine when she first started seeing the child psychologist and started growing out her hair and dressing like other girls.

She was eleven when her parents changed her name to Sophia at her behest.

She was twelve when she was put on blockers, until they could get her started on HRT when she turned eighteen.

She was fourteen when she started wearing stuffed bras so she would look like all the other girls.

She was fifteen when Hunk switched to her school and became her best friend, despite—or maybe in spite—of all the other kids taunting them.

She was eighteen when she started lining up her orange bottles of pills that would help her be more herself. They stood sentry in her medicine cabinet, all the labels pointed outwards, always ready.

She was eighteen when she started college at Altea University and the misgendering and derogatory, transphobic comments dropped by nearly half.

She was eighteen when she started actually filling out her bras.

She was eighteen when she thought she could finally be happy with herself.

* * *

The semester went by so slowly and much too fast all at once.

Sophia absolutely loved her classes. Granted, English 101 could have gone better, but everything else was _awesome_. There was another trans person in her engineering physics class, and they always partnered when it was time to do labs. Pidge was much younger—only sixteen, but already in college and treating their shared classes like they were child's play. Pidge and Hunk hit it off, too, which was great for the most part. The only major downside was that the two liked to team together to prank her, the jerks. But usually, the three could be found arguing physics for hours, if Pidge's dad would let them. He was one of the astro-physicist professors and usually collected Pidge at the coffee shop when it was time for dinner, putting a stop to their arguments on String Theory and Multiple Dimensions and cutting numerous video games short.

Sophia had even found a community in the LGBT+ resource center. There was even a club, open to anyone LGBT+ and allies in Altea, where they hung out every Wednesday evening after dinner in one of the leadership classrooms and played games and watched movies and just—_existed_, without being afraid. And she wasn't even the only trans woman there! Pidge, unfortunately, was the only non-binary person there, but no one treated them any different.

It was _great_. _Awesome_.

But she still struck out with everyone she used pickup lines on.

Which. _Ouch_.

And then, without her realizing it, it was the last meeting before they went home for winter break. Finals were next week, and students were buzzing with anticipation and excitement. Sophia was ready to get her finals over with—she wasn't too worried, really. She was more excited about going home for a month and seeing her family again. It was hard, living so far away with only Skype and phone calls and texting, but they made do and she talked with someone in her family at least once a day.

Tonight, though, was for fun. There were so many sugary snacks and cider and ridiculous sweaters. They didn't have music or anything, since no one could decide what to play, but that was alright with Sophia. She had Hunk and Pidge and Shay at her side, sipping at cider and laughing at some stupid math joke Pidge had just finished telling.

And then she looked up when someone arrived a half an hour after things had started. They were pale and hunched into a red coat, red hat snug on their head and scarf wound thickly around the lower part of their face to keep out the chill. Red cheeks and dark eyes peeked out above the scarf. Professor Shirogane—Takashi, when they were in this room or doing other LGBT+ activities—cried out happily and dragged his husband, Adam, over to the newcomer.

Sophia watched the newcomer roll their eyes as they started peeling off their winter gear. They had long black hair and an annoyed scowl as Takashi and Adam pestered them and pulled them into the room. Honestly, Sophia wasn't sure if they were a boy or a girl—or non-binary, as the case may be. They seemed fairly masculine, but... Sophia didn't want to assume. They threw their winter gear on a pile that Sophia vaguely registered as belonging to the pair and followed after them like a little duckling following its mama.

She'd never seen them before, she thought distantly as Takashi and Adam led them to the food table.

"Sophia~!" Hunk sang with a grin.

"Huh?" she answered intelligently.

Pidge was grinning that gremlin grin of theirs. "Are we about to see Sophia McClain strike out again?"

"What? No!" she protested, turning her nose up and crossing her arms carefully so she didn't spill her cider. "I'm not going to strike out!"

"So you're gonna go try your awful pickup lines, then?" asked Hunk. Shay giggled beside him. He patted her shoulder condescendingly and added, "Good luck, my friend."

"You all are _awful_!"

Some friends _they_ were! Sophia stalked off towards the newcomer, smiling as charmingly as she could as she neared. She would prove them wrong! Twenty-third time's the charm, after all! Adam noticed her first and gave her a small wave as he continued piling sweets onto the newcomer's plate, much to their disgruntlement.

"Hi!" Sophia chirped once she reached them. She stuck out a hand. Huh. She was a little taller than him. "Your name must be Andromeda, 'cause we're destined to collide."

The newcomer stilled, then turned to her with a cocked eyebrow. "Uhm... My name's Keith, actually."

Okay. That one was probably a little vague. But at least she could assume he was a guy, what with his deep, raspy voice and name. Dropping her hand, since it didn't look like he was going to take it, she kept her smile, never faltering, and tried again. "Nice to meet you, Keith. My name is Sophia. You know, I think we may have been transported to the surface of Mercury, because things became unbelievably hot when you walked into the room."

Keith looked at her, then at Takashi and Adam (who were doing their best to not laugh, at least), then around the room. "I'm sure we can find a thermostat and turn the heat down if you want."

Okay. _Seriously_? Was this boy just dense, or what? Was he trying to let her down gently? It was a weird way to show he wasn't interested. But... No? He seemed genuinely confused, especially when Takashi snickered.

One more. Just one more and then she would quit. Maybe not such a strong come-on would work best with Keith. Something more flattering and less "hey-I-wanna-bang-you."

"Who took the stars out of the sky and put them in your eyes?" Because his eyes were frickin' _gorgeous_, and it wasn't _fair_, okay? Sophia was a disaster bisexual—everyone knew it. And she had a weakness for pretty eyes. And his eyes—he looked... _celestial_, really, with eyes that were probably grey but looked purple with blue swirls that glittered under the fairy lights.

And—confusion, again. Keith frowned at her, then looked out the dark window. "I... don't think that's possible?"

That was when Takashi erupted into a full-body laugh that nearly sent him to the floor. Adam wasn't much better, nearly dropping his plate. Sophia's face warmed and she wanted to just—leave. Drop out of college, change her name, hide away in the Amazon Forest or something. Or just shoot her up into space. Keith still just... looked confused, and just as flustered as she felt, which she thought was a little unfair.

"Sorry, sorry," Takashi wheezed. "I just—I can't. I _can't_."

_Rude_.

Mortification set somewhere low in her belly. Shame hung heavy in her chest. Fuck, she wasn't going to be able to show her face to Professor Shirogane ever again, which sucked since he was one of the physics professors. She really _was_ going to have to drop out of school, and her family would be so disappointed in her.

All because she thought some boy was _cute_ and she had to open her big, fat mouth.

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable," she murmured, ducking her head. "I—I shouldn't have come on so strong, I guess. It's just—You're cute, and I wanted to talk to you—"

"Wait, you think I'm cute?" Keith asked. Sophia looked up to see him looking rather shocked at that information. "Wait. Were you _hitting_ on me?"

"I—I—Yeah. I was."

"Oh." Curiously enough, his cheeks dusted a light pink. "I'm—sorry. I don't understand pickup lines or when people are trying to hit on me. As you can tell." He ruffled his long hair. He still had his fingerless gloves on, which—okay. She needed to control her thirst.

"That's okay," she replied with a sad smile. "They were lame pickup lines anyway."

"Oh, I don't know," said Takashi, startling them. She had forgotten he was still there. "That last one was kind of cute."

Keith shoved at him, making Takashi and Adam both laugh as they scurried away. Keith huffed out a sigh and rolled his eyes. "Sorry about my brother. He's a menace."

"He's your _brother_?"

"Unfortunately."

Sophia snorted. "Yeah, _okay_."

Keith's laugh was breathy, as if he wasn't used to laughing much. "Do you wanna go sit down, or something?" he asked, the red returning to his cheeks.

"Y-Yeah," she replied, heart stuttering. "That's—Yeah."

They paused to get him a drink and some napkins, which Sophia offered to carry. Somewhere, on the other side of the room, she swore she heard Pidge yell out, "_Holy shit_!" When she looked, Hunk was trying to smother them.

Good. They deserved it.

Keith found them two desks sort of secluded from the others. That was—good, right? He was interested in getting to know her, right? Somewhat privately, where they hopefully wouldn't be interrupted? Sophia set his cider down on his desk after he had scooted them closer together.

That was—that had to be good.

The desks had broad, flat tables instead of the slightly angled tiny desks that hardly held a single notebook. The two desktops were nearly touching, and he pushed the plate of sweets closer to the middle.

"You can have some," he murmured. "Adam put way too much on my plate."

"Thanks." She took a cookie and munched on it, mulling over how to continue talking with Keith. Maybe she could start with finding out what they had in common. "So... I haven't seen you here before. Are you... gay? Bi? Ace? ... An ally?"

"Oh." He looked a little startled at her question. "I'm—still sort of figuring it out. I've just been going with 'queer' for now."

Huh. "I'm bi," she supplied with a grin. "I'm an equal opportunist."

Keith gave her a tiny smile. "You're pretty confident about that."

"I've known for a while," she answered. She shoved the rest of the cookie in her mouth. Keith laughed, his eyes sparkling and twinkling under the soft light. But then Sophia felt—shy, unsure if she should ask. She hated not knowing. "Uhm. So—I mean, are you interested?"

That confused frown was back. "Interested? In what?"

"Uhm." Holy crow. Why did this have to be so embarrassing? She was usually so confident. But this cute boy made something in her chest flutter. "You know..."

"You have to be direct," Keith said, face neutral. "I don't... understand unless you're direct."

"It's just—" She huffed and the air sent her fringe flopping. "Okay, so." She tapped a finger to the plastic cup. Direct. "I'm asking if you might be interested in dating me, or going on a date with me, I guess. It's just—" She bit the inside of her lip, careful not to smudge the red lipstick, and hunched her shoulders a little. From the corner of her eye, she saw Hunk hovering not too far from them, as if waiting for her signal to come save her. Bless him. "You kind of seem interested? But, I wanna be sure because I don't want to think one thing while you're thinking another, and—"

A hand rested on hers. The leather glove was soft on her skin. "I wouldn't say no."

"Even if I'm... I'm a trans woman?"

The hand over hers squeezed gently. Sophia looked back up to see him smiling softly at her. "I don't see why that would make any difference."

Sophia giggled, hiding her grin behind her free hand. The twenty-third time really _was_ the charm. If she'd been able to catch someone's attention from her pickup lines, she usually lost them after they found out she was trans.

And Keith _didn't care_.

He was the first person, _ever_, to not sneer at her or immediately ghost her after finding out.

They talked, and talked, and talked, barely paying any attention to the rest of the room as people filtered in and out. They never strayed from their conversation, barely even taking their eyes off each other. Keith's hand stayed resting over hers. The warmth was comforting, grounding, as his thumb soothed back and forth over her knuckles.

"Hey." Takashi kicked at Keith's desk. "We're trying to clean and lock up. Can I take your—"

They looked up to see it was just a few people left cleaning up the snacks and trash that littered the room. Sophia felt her face warm. Had she really just spent the entire time just talking to Keith? Hunk and Pidge were part of those helping clean, though Pidge didn't look too happy about it. They were shooting her a grin when she finally caught sight of the two. Pidge even went so far as to wiggle their eyebrows at her.

"Oh." Keith was blushing, too. Huh. He moved to help, hand lingering on hers from just a moment.

It didn't take long to gather the rest of the trash. Takashi, the good soul, after putting on his coat and scarf gathered the trash bags for the janitors and motioned for the others to leave so he could lock the door. The trash bags rustled as they shuffled out the door, then out the building.

It was snowing—soft, gentle swirls of snowflakes as the cold bit at their cheeks and stole their breath. The small group paused to look up at the dark sky and the large snowflakes falling around them.

A hand touched her elbow. "Hey," Keith said softly. "Can I—Can I get your number?" His cheeks flushed, which Sophia suspected wasn't just from the cold. "If—I—I mean—Would you like to go out? On a date? I mean—if you're still interested in that date."

Sophia couldn't help the goofy smile. She pulled out her phone and shoved it into Keith's hand. "I'd love to. I have to study for my finals this weekend, but—uh—maybe I can take a study break for dinner?"

Keith fumbled putting his number in, then hastily shoved it back at her. The contact information for Keith Kogane stared back up at her. She texted him her name bracketed by hearts. Cheesy, but—whatever.

His phone chimed and he pulled it out, smiling goofily at her text. "I'll text you Sunday about five to see if you're up for dinner?"

"Yeah—Yeah, I'd—I'd like that." She tucked some hair behind her beanie and smiled shyly at him. Gathering up all her courage, she leaned forward the scant few inches between them and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. He stared at her, gobsmacked, a fingerless-gloved hand reaching up to where she had kissed him. "Bye!" she called hastily, scrambling towards her waiting friends. "Merry Christmas Takashi! Adam!"

The two cheerfully returned the goodbye and she dragged her two friends around the corner out of sight. She squealed and jogged in place, wiggling her hips in her little happy dance. "I have a date!" She swooned into Hunk's arms who dutifully caught her. "He's so precious."

Hunk squeezed her tight. "I'm glad you're happy."

"Me too, Hunk. Me too."

* * *

Sophia was eighteen when she got her first boyfriend.

She was eighteen when she was finally, truly, happy with herself.


End file.
